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In the wake of the Supreme Court’s controversial overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, several companies in the real estate space have offered support to their employees in states likely to ban abortion.
A number of companies have offered to pay for travel and health-care expenses associated with abortion, should their employees need to travel out of their state for the operation. Among the companies offering the benefit is Brown Harris Stevens, whose CEO Bess Freedman lamented the “anti-women” ruling.
Bess Freedman
“It is unfortunate that the highest court in the USA has made a decision that is so anti-women,” Freedman said in a statement. “This disgraceful ruling is a direct threat to the health and safety of women in this country and I applaud companies, Brown Harris Stevens included, that are stepping up to take care of our communities.”
Brown Harris Stevens is offering employees who live in an area affected by an abortion ban, $4,000 in reimbursements for travel expenses, the company said in a blog post on Monday.
Douglas Elliman has also told employees it will cover travel-related expenses for abortions. The brokerage has about 8,000 employees and agents spread throughout the country including in Texas, which has banned abortion.
Since most real estate agents are independent contractors, who do not receive benefits from their associated brokerage, the policies will likely only affect employees who work in more administrative roles for brokerages.
Also offering employees a travel reimbursement is Zillow, which updated its existing health plan on June 1 to allow for $7,500 in travel-related expenses for health care, which includes reproductive health care.
“We strongly support our employees’ right to make health care choices that are right for them, and we will continue to do so,” a spokesperson for Zillow said. “Our health benefits cover a wide range of reproductive health care services — including abortion, whether patient-elected, medically necessary, or both.”
Redfin has also implemented a similar policy, announcing in a statement on Monday its intention to pay for employees traveling to receive medical care.
Compass, which has around 4,000 employees, told employees Friday they would pay travel expenses for any employee who needed it.
Keller Williams meanwhile has said they are examining their benefits and policies to best benefit their team in wake of the decision, but has not yet announced details.
And Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders, has also offered to pay employees relocation fees.
Most of the real estate industry’s biggest figures have yet to weigh in on the decision, though. As of Tuesday, eXp Realty’s Glenn Sanford, Coldwell Banker’s Ryan Gorman, and Ryan Schneider of Anywhere, had yet to publicly weigh in on the decision, nor did Corcoran, RE/MAX, or Century 21.
